Role of School Boards

There are 62 public, separate and francophone school boards in Alberta that are elected by and accountable to the communities they serve.

School boards play an important role. Through the School Act, the Government of Alberta delegates much of its authority for the governance of education to locally elected boards.

Some of the decisions made by school boards include:

•Planning for the jurisdiction, setting priorities for the system in light of community wishes, available resources and sound educational practice •Setting goals for the jurisdiction, ensuring education stays in step with today's world •Evaluating the School Board Superintendent •Adopting an annual budget for the school system •Making policy to guide the administration and employees toward district goals •Communicating with the community and staff on behalf of the jurisdiction •Educating others, with a goal of ensuring education is given a high priority by the public and to make the community aware of the jurisdiction's achievements •Gathering information in order to make sound decisions •Adjudicating in policy disputes (Adapted from the Alberta School Boards Association)

School boards have the responsibility to make decisions regarding the health and safety of their students. This includes assessing risks and ensuring that the best interests of all their students, teachers, administrators, parents and volunteers are being considered.

"The school board is made up of trustees elected every four years from wards (at large) in the jurisdiction.As elected officials, school board trustees are accountable to the voters. As stewards of millions of dollars in public funds, they are accountable to taxpayers. And as people entrusted with the care and education of children, they are responsible to parents and the community-at-large."

What do school boards do?

In Alberta, citizens elect school boards to act for the legislature in their local schools and communities. School boards exist because of the belief that government – and decisions – made closest to the people being governed are the most effective.

Authority

Through the School Act, Alberta’s legislature has delegated some authority for the governance of education to school boards. As statutory corporations school boards have obligations to perform and they have powers to carry out these tasks. Once passed, the new Education Act will allow for more local decision making through added flexibility. The new Act gives boards Natural Person Powers – providing more discretion in how boards fulfill their responsibilities tothe community.

The board of trustees is granted many types of authority to enable it to fulfill its mandate to provide kindergarten to Grade 12 education within its jurisdiction. These powers relate to providing educational services.

The Board-Superintendent relationship

The school board selects a superintendent of schools, delegates administrative duties to the superintendent and evaluates the superintendent’s performance. The school board clearly outlines its expectations of the superintendent. Legislation gives school boards the power to engage in a wide range of activities. Typically school boards delegate operational tasks to the superintendent and focus their energy on governing the system by setting performance targets and holding the system accountable for the desired results. No matter how the school board assigns duties and responsibilities, ultimately it is the school board that will be held accountable for the outcomes.

A school board’s relationship with the superintendent is the most important relationship in the school system. The school board and superintendent have different but complementary roles. Each party’s success is greatly influenced by the other’s success. Both parties must nurture this relationship. The school board must clearly establish the roles and responsibilities of the school board, the board chair and the superintendent.

Accountability

The school board holds the system – and itself – accountable for achieving its goals. The school board assigns roles and responsibilities for the desired results and creates a system to monitor and evaluate achievement of those results. The school board reports system and school performance to the public and to the provincial government.

How does Alberta Education decide how much money each school board gets?

The 142-page Funding Manual for School Authorities 2013-14 school year provides a detailed explanation of how the government distributes money to the province’s 61 school boards http://bit.ly/L3WMSk. This guidebook provides a general overview. You can sit down with your secretary-treasurer to review your school jurisdiction’s financial picture.

In broad strokes the government allocates money to each school board based on the number and type of students the jurisdiction serves; where the students live and the economic conditions under which students are being served.

The Local Authorities Election Act, Revised Statutes of Alberta 2000, Chapter L-21, provides a standardization of election procedures for all local authorities. Local authorities include villages, towns, counties, municipal districts, and school boards. The Local Authorities Election Act is available from the Queen's Printer website at: http://www.qp.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=L21.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779769339

Electoral Structure

Elections are a fundamental element of democratic governance. They grant individuals an equal voice and foster community involvement in the delivery of education. An informed and effectual board of trustees must be comprised of community representatives. The School Act and Local Authorities Election Act allow school authorities to design electoral structures that best serve the demographic and geographical makeup of their respective education communities.

Section 262 of the School Act allows school authorities to elect trustees at large or by wards. When elections are at large, all persons residing in the school authority’s geographical area vote for all candidates.